Very quietly, Wye Oak have put together an impressive run. Not musically quiet, of course — their specialty is massive guitarscapes that seem an impossibility from just a duo. But they've been doing great work while we've all been looking in the other direction. Here, they take it to new heights: they're both feistier and more confident than they were on their fine 2009 release, The Knot, and yet they still write strong melodies. Jenn Wasner's shredding is formidable, and her voice, something of a vaguely angry coo, is reminiscent of such 1990s favorites as Mary Timony of Helium and Rebecca Gates of the Spinanes. The pair (Andy Stack is the other half, on drums and miscellany) wring the tension from the slower, quieter moments of their songs, as on the Sonic Youth–y "Dog Eyes," and they can still create a disorienting squall, as on the title track. And "Holy Holy" just slays, from the opening sour notes to the lovely harmonies on the final chorus. Here's one of the few first-quarter releases of 2011 that people will still be listening to in 2012.

DevilDriver | Beast Would it be blasphemous to compare DevilDriver with the almighty Pantera? Sure, perhaps. But the only reference for the bludgeoning brutality of Beast is the latter days of the Texas-based metal militants and their pushing of the envelope into breakneck energy, aggression, and power

A triumphant Reks returns home after a Euro blitz Thank the good lord Nas for Europe. Say what you will about their snotty languages and odd sneakers, young people in urban Denmark, France, and Germany have kept sophisticated hardcore hip-hop alive, allowing savants like Lawrence native Reks to win a slice of the success that he deserves.

R.E.M. | Collapse Into Now It's tough for a band nearly 30 years into their singularly influential career not to dissolve into an adjective. But R.E.M. have taken their moniker on quite a musical journey.

Screw the Ides of March — beware Bodega Girls When music writers start playing the futures game, it's usually a good idea to take our prognostications with a grain of salt. That said, if there's one wager you can bet the house on this year, it's that Boston's Bodega Girls will spend 2011 on a giant winning streak, whether they like it or not. Lock it up.

The Dodos | No Color Francisco duo the Dodos, makes a lot of broad statements on the band's fourth studio album. Fortunately, the music fills in the blanks

Amon Amarth | Surtur Rising Every hessian band duder ever will tell you that the new album is the same as the previous one, only heavier and more brutal. And even if that's true, it's hard to pull off in real life, where the will to be heavy often leads to riffage that is shrill and speedy or, worse, deadeningly uninventive.

REVIEW: THE NEWSROOM | June 20, 2012 The Newsroom is a dose of concentrated Sorkin, by turns maddening and exhilarating.

HBO'S VEEP NEEDS MORE MEAN | April 23, 2012 Reality, right now, is so absurd that almost everyone has already adopted a "laugh-to-keep-from-crying" approach to the news. We don't need someone to tell us how truly horrifying our political landscape is. So what's a satirist to do?